The invention relates to apparatus for distributing liquid treatment materials, more particularly to an apparatus using a portable blower for distributing the material as a fog or fine mist to a treatment area using an air flow generated by the blower through a blower tube which may be used with new or existing equipment.
Heretofore, various devices have been known for the application of liquid or dry materials for lawn, plants, gardens and the like, wherein a dry or liquid material is either mixed with a water or air stream. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,996 discloses an attachment for a portable leaf blower for distributing a pesticide dust. U.S. Pat. No. 4,474,327 discloses a hand held blower which distributes a granular fertilizer using a discharge air stream from the blower. The device requires a venturi throat for providing a vacuum source for drawing the fertilizer particles into the air stream. U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,278 discloses a portable garden powder duster. U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,441 discloses a hopper feeder for a portable blower for dispensing a powder material into an air flow. U.S. Pat. No. 3,776,459 disclosed a sprayer attachment for leaf blower which dispenses a liquid insecticide.
While the above prior art has certain suitable characteristics, they do not provide a simple, easy to use, and reliable apparatus for dispensing a liquid and/or dry lawn treatment material either as an a new or a retrofit an existing yard blower.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a portable yard blower having a blower tube through which an air flow is created in which a liquid mist or fog may be easily and reliably dispensed.
Still another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for retrofitting an existing yard blower for distributing a liquid or dry treatment material in an easy and convenient manner.
Another object of the invention is to provide an air blower having a blower its tube through which an air flow is generated and a liquid and/or dry material may be dispensed using gravity feed eliminating the need for relatively complex feeding mechanisms.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an air blower having effective feeding of a dry and/or liquid yard treatment material at an effective portion of the air stream so that the material is effectively distributed to the lawn or other treatment area.
The above objectives are accomplished according to the present invention by providing fogger apparatus for distributing a mist of liquid treatment materials which comprises a portable blower for creating an airflow having an inlet and an outlet. A handheld blower tube is connected in fluid communication to the outlet of the blower though which said airflow is delivered. The blower tube has an exit end through which the exiting airflow exits the blower tube. A container contains a liquid material to be dispensed as a mist, and a feed tube is connected to the container for delivering liquid from the container. A dispensing nozzle is disposed in fluid communication with the feed tube having a free end terminating near the exit end of the tube for distributing liquid material into the exiting air flow. A spray control device is carried by the blower tube between the feed tube and dispensing nozzle for controlling the characteristics of the mist formed by the liquid being injected into the exiting airflow. The spray control device includes a valve for controlling the flow of go liquid material through the tube so that the amount of liquid material distributed into the exiting airflow is metered. Advantageously, the valve may include a valve passage and a valve element for adjustably blocking the valve passage to control the amount of fluid through the valve passage and hence the feed tube. Preferably, the feed tube extends into and through the valve passage and a protuberance protrudes into the valve passage which cooperates with the valve element to selectively pinch off the feed tube to control the flow of liquid there through. The feed tube may be pulled toward or away from the free end of the blower tube to vary the distance between the free end of a dispensing nozzle and the free end of the blower tube to thereby further control the mist characteristics of the mist resulting from injection of the liquid material into the exiting airflow. Advantageously, the valve passage and valve element which closes off the feed tube against the protuberance allow the feed tube to be pulled toward and away from the exit end to adjust the longitudinal position of the dispensing nozzle so that the position of the free end of the nozzle may be set relative to the free end of the blower tube. The dispensing nozzle may include a plurality of dispensing barrels in communication with the feed tube. Advantageously, the containers which contain liquid to be dispersed include a stack of containers containing a bacterial breeding solution and/or a chemical batch, the top one of the tanks being a dispensing container from which fluid is drawn.